Second Dolpo Cup: Unity, Division or Both?

On 23rd Oct' 2015, Friday by evening, second Dolpo Cup was completed. The tournament initially planned for three days took four long days (20-23rd Oct) to complete. Participated by the students from the seven VDCs of Dolpo (Upper Dolpa), such as Chharka, Mukot, Phoksumdo, Vijer, Saldang, Tarap and Shimen, the tournament remained successful at least in garnering support from every students who showed their participation right from the beginning. Though it is not the first time that the organizer, such as Students of Dolpo (SoD) organized such activity, the tournament comprising basketball (both for boys and girls) and football (for boys) has always remained closer to the students. The organizer's primary objective behind organizing such program has been the 'Play for Unity' as written in the banner too. Undoubtedly, the region vast as Dolpo comprising seven village development committees, separated by extreme geography, sport became a medium to bring all the students together in one platform. On the other hand, the tournament has also reinforced the division within these communities. Therefore, the intention of this piece is to show that the sports activities as one organized by SoD can also enforce the division within the community's students while bringing them together too.   

Peoples together
For a region such as Dolpo and its peoples including their knowledge and experiences, it is indeed hard task to bring them together in one place. Whether it's for a discussion or any political gathering, the gathering of the locals from seven VDCs in one place has always been rare. Before in the past during the time of Chikyab (a local regional leader), locals from other parts of Dolpo used to gather in Dho-Tarap annually to discuss their grievances. Chikyab during that time used to properly handle and resolve those local grievances. But with the demise of the local Chikyab by late 1970s and also due to political changes in the country and its administrative impacts in the local level and also because of the remoteness of the place including the geography, such as Dolpo, the customary governance such as that of Chikyab slowly lost its value. The region yet has the leaders' supporters, such as Gapu who still manages those complaints in the local level including in every 'yul', where locals from every wards still gathers to discuss upon and report their grievances and disputes. Nonetheless, due to presence of the security officials including the police personnel at the major entry points of Upper Dolpa, some of the locals have also started to report their grievances to these officials, appointed by the center, 'Singhadurbar'. Whether these security personnel have made the region secure or have further made the region insecure can be discussed separately in a separate piece.

Several studies have shown that the literacy level of Karnali region is very poor. Dolpo and it's peoples including the children have remained further marginalized in terms of an education. Though the locals have sufficient knowledge to adapt and sustain their survival in the cold region, their illiteracy in failing to learn other languages have also kept them unaware about the events beyond their region. Some level of knowledge have also been historically exchanged with the barter system with their trade with Tibet, Mustang, Jumla, and also with Lower Dolpa, 'Rong', yet their unawareness and also the government's lack of proper planning to include these peoples in the mainstream development including quality education, have kept these people more or less in spatial isolation. On the other hand, because of some of the foreign based organizations since early 1990s, the children of the region have also got an access to education. Most of the schools in the region are of primary level. Maximum level of the class is of 8. Subsequently, they have also came across the other development beyond their local and religious events. Yet due to harsher conditions in these regions and also due to the apathy of the government in terms of failing to appoint timely teachers in the schools, certain organizations have had also started to admit these children in the 'Tibetan' schools of Kathmandu. How the district administration level including the school administration and these 'Tibetan' schools also fails to propagate the quality education for these children can also be research properly. Meanwhile, most of the region's students are also compelled to continue their education for the remainder of six months in Kathmandu, away from their parents. Yet these students mainly coming from their respective villages have also remained in their own hostels while maintaining their route from hostel to schools and vice versa. Therefore, even if most of the students would be in Kathmandu, these students have failed to establish any connection with their fellow Dolpo students coming from other villages and staying in other hostels in different locations of Kathmandu. Hence, it became significant to bring all these students in one platform while not forgetting their own remote region including villages.  

In this context, SoD planned to organize that platform comprising the football and basketball tournament for these students, who would again go back to their villages and their schools after winter season. Continuing last year's success of bringing these students together in one platform by organizing the First Dolpo Cup, SoD also organized its second Dolpo Cup tournament. It also fell during the holidays of Dashain. Because of this, not only the students from every parts of Dolpo were brought together, according to one participant, every young yet unknown faces are also known to each other, which indeed is a very good sign for any forthcoming Dolpo endeavors. The unity within the groups were also seen. During the playing time, there were large number of supporters from respective hostels supporting and cheering their teams by their clapping and also by their own songs. For example, when the players of Ben-Tsang played, other students of Ben-Tsang supporter supported their teams by their continuous chanting of the player's names and also of the region, such as Ben-Tsang, which falls under the current Shimen VDC and a neighboring region of Chharka VDC separated by the pass such as 'Mo La'. Nonetheless, the tournament also enforced the divisions among the groups. 

Division Enforced 
Though unintended/latent consequences might have gone against the wishes and objectives of SoD, the division created by the tournament can be clearly seen before, during and after the games. More than 30 games were played. In these games, it was a rare phenomena when the students of one village would support other hostels' students. Not only they failed to show their participation when none of their students or friends were playing, the space of the ground also manifested the boundaries among the groups. None of the groups stayed in a mix group. For example: the students and supporters of Ben-Tsang never stayed together with the supporters of Saldang. Most of the group including students stayed with their own fellow students in a separate place, little bit away from other students. Distance was also seen. As usual, when these students also showed their dissatisfaction and frustration when other team scored. When they booed the opponent teams, they forgot the sole objective of the tournament, 'Playing for the Unity'. 

On the other hand, some of the players of the playing team even supported their own villager's team while promoting 'unfair' play. According to one participant from other hostel, he clearly said to me that certain player knowingly let in the goals of opposition even playing against the team. No it was not a suicide goal but it was, according to that participant's observation, a politics against his own team. Some players of the team were from the village of the opposition. In this case, the former team lost the game by the score 0-3. Such incidents might show how tournament as this might also go wrong and can have negative consequences for other players too. 

It will always be challenge for the organizer though when such incidents occur which are beyond the control of the organizer. The organizer can identify those players and can also take an extra step to reduce those misshapes. Yet, the socially constructed individual such as the player coming from their respective villages will always have that connection and belongingness first with their own village, no matter with whom they are playing for and playing against. The organizer need to figure out the possible steps on how progressive unity could be achieved vis-a-vis the next year tournament or any gathering while minimizing any aspects of disunity or division. One measure could be requesting the students to sit together and support every Dolpo teams.   

                 


Dolpo Cup 2015 

Dolpo Cup Winner as follows: 
Football Tournament
1. Snow Land Ranag School (Winner)
2. Tarap School (Runner up)
3. Students of Dolpo (2nd Runner up)

Basketball Boys Tournament:
1. Bentsang (Winner)
2. Ranag School (Runner up)
3. Saldang VDC (2nd runner up)

Girls Basketball Tournament:
1. Bentsang ( Winner)
2. Students of Dolpo ( Runner up)
3. Vijer School ( 2nd Runner up)

Some Glimpses of Second Dolpo Cup Tournament: